OTTAWA - Election day has been announced - mark it down in your ledger, May 2nd it is. The campaign has officially begun for an election that, by all accounts, will likely not change very much in the House of Commons.

It is quite interesting to see what each federal party's first moves have been, where there attention is being focused, etc. The Liberals, who talked a pretty big game when they voted to bring down the government, seem a little bit aimless - does Ignatieff really hope to win many seats west of Manitoba? Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, on the other hand, have clearly focused their sights on Toronto. This is, after all, where the Conservatives can pick up the most seats and potentially attain a majority.

It is quite refreshing, in fact, to see the federal Conservatives abandon their policy of appeasement/fawning towards Quebec. Indeed, after several years spent polishing his French, it seems that Mr. Harper may have finally accepted that there is no sure way to a majority though Quebec. While the western core of the Conservative party's support would not heartily embrace any Toronto or Ontario-centric policies, this would surely be preferable to the laundry list of demands coming from Quebec these days.

Meanwhile, the NDP have ambitions to increase their seat totals by targeting vulnerable Liberal ridings - of which there are many. Yet, with almost daily swings in the polling data for the Liberals and NDP it remains to be seen how things will pan out. The party leaders' messaging has likely never been more important in these swing ridings.

In Canada, where only about 20% of the population follows political issues with interest, the real challenge will be in motivating the public to vote in an election that most people do not want.